In the movie “Flashdance,” a talented young woman beats the odds to achieve her dream of becoming a professional ballerina.

You could say the same thing about Vista-raised actress Kelly Felthous, who has a featured role in the national tour of “Flashdance the Musical,” which makes its only Southern California stop next week in Costa Mesa.

Felthous, who attended elementary and middle school in Bonsall and graduated from Vista High, can barely remember a time in her life that she wasn’t dancing and singing. Her mother, Diane Felthous, ran a dance studio and when Kelly was a little girl, she began performing in local community theaters. She turned professional at age 8, performing in “Jane Eyre” at La Jolla Playhouse and “Ruthless” at The Theatre in Old Town, and when she was 12, she hit the road with the national tour of “The Sound of Music” (as Brigitta von Trapp).

“I’m from a very artistic family and I owe everything to my mother,” Felthous said in an interview from a “Flashdance” tour stop in Portland, Ore., last week.

Felthous, who’s in her mid-20s and now lives in New York, plays the role of Gloria in “Flashdance.” Gloria is the best friend of Alex — who’s a lady welder by day and an exotic dancer by night. The musical, which launched in November with the goal of one day playing on Broadway, is based on the 1983 film starring Jennifer Beals and it features songs from the movie and other 1980s classics.

Felthous’ character (named Jeanie in the film) is an aspiring ice skater who turns to pole-dancing at a strip club out of desperation.

“I go to the dark side but I find my way back,” Felthous said of her character, whose name was changed so she could belt out the 1982 pop hit “Gloria.” “My big number is a very musical theater thing with a lot of ’80s ‘voguing.’ ”

Like the movie, the musical is dance-heavy, and Felthous said many of her castmates are professional dancers, including some from Twyla Tharp’s dance company.

“Everyone in our show is at the top of their field,” she said. “Sometimes this life is really hard and I wonder why I’m doing it, but then there are moments like this when I’m surrounded by people at the height of their industry and I know it’s all worth it.”

Before joining “Flashdance” last fall, Felthous spent two years on the road with “Grease.” She said touring is grueling on the mind and body but she enjoys shopping, trying local foods and going to music clubs in the cities she visits.

She said she’s played a lot of the musical theater “blondes” over the years — a particular favorite was Ruby in “Dames at Sea” at Moonlight Amphitheatre in 2002 with her sister, Charna, and future Tony Award winner Christian Hoff — but the one role that has so far eluded her is Glinda in “Wicked.” And she’d love to play Rapunzel if there’s ever a musical version of the animated film “Tangled.”